Kerndall Shields looks at the book Total MMA by Jonathan Snowden
Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting is, without question, the
definitive history of mixed martial arts. Author Jonathan Snowden
charts the two distinct historical paths that lead us to modern MMA,
the first from Brazil, the second from Japan.
He traces Mitsuyo Maeda's travels around the globe spreading the
techniques and training methods of Jigoro Kano's Kodokan Judo -- but
not necessarily it's spirit. Maeda fought professionally, and fought
all comers, in both legitimate contests of skill and "worked"
performances more akin to professional wrestling than genuine athletic
competition. This is the man who quite briefly taught Carlos Gracie
the rudiments of his fighting system, basic techniques and principles
that the Gracie family ingeniously developed into their own distinct
style of grappling. Certain members of the Gracie family (by no means
all) have been notoriously inconsistent, incredible, historically
inaccurate and downright dishonest in their accounts of Maeda and the
origins of their art, trying to make their already impressive history
all the more spectacular. This is one respect in which Total MMA
shines: it does its part to set this record straight. Snowden gives
the Gracie family all due credit -- and indeed much credit is due --
for their tremendous innovations, but he also calls a spade a spade,
revealing many aspects of "The Gracie Myth" to be exactly that.
Even better than Snowden's account of how Maeda brought submission
grappling to the Gracies, who then helped popularize it in America
through the creation of the UFC, is Snowden's history of the
independent and simultaneous rise of something akin to MMA in Japan.
This is perhaps where the book is strongest. From the Inoki/Ali
debacle, to the rise of Akira Maeda and the UWF, to the eventual
experiment of the early days of Pancrase, which blended pro wrestling
rules and real competition, Snowden provides the most thorough account
of the emergence of Japanese MMA out of the strange world of Japanese
professional wrestling that is available in print.
Total MMA is not only a study of origins, however. It's an
impressively thorough account and assessment of virtually every fight,
fighter, promotion, and event of any real significance to the ongoing
history of mixed martial arts, from the early tournament wins of Royce
Gracie, to the dark days of the UFC's largely untelevised middle
years, to the modern boom of the Spike TV era. And there is
considerable attention paid throughout the book to the Japanese
incarnation of the sport, which attained a cultural presence far in
excess of what we see even today in North American MMA. Snowden gives
us the early days of Pancrase, where Ken and later Frank Shamrock
competed against and alongside the young stars of Japanese pro
wrestling; the early years of Pride FC, where wrestling legend
Nobuhiko Takada faced the great Rickson Gracie; to Kazushi Sakuraba's
emergence as "The Gracie Hunter." We're taken through the heady days
of Japan's MMA peak, where fighters like Bob Sapp, "Kid" Yammamoto,
and Hidehiko Yoshida drew television crowds in the many millions, and
through Pride's downfall to a backroom Yakuza scandal.
Total MMA lives up to its title. It's simply all here, from a Kodokan
expert far from home teaching a young Brazilian the basics of
grappling eighty years ago through the build-up of Brock Lesnar's UFC
title bout with Randy Couture only a few short weeks ago. Snowden's
prose is never less than clear, and at times excellent, with an
uncommonly fine feel of flow from one section to the next. His
meticulously researched text documents every one of its many sources,
which number in the hundreds. That inspires confidence: Snowden isn't
"spinning"; he isn't telling half-truths here. He's got nothing to
hide; he's inviting you the reader to test his facts and arguments
against the source materials he's drawn upon.
In short, Snowden's mixed martial arts history is the standard against
which any and all future such works will be measured. The bar has been
set high.
Regards,
Kendall Shields
Send us a news tip: newstips@wrestlingobserver.com
Note to webmasters/reporters:
When recapping news from this site or from our newsletters, please include a link to www.wrestlingobserver.com
For the most in-depth and detailed news and analysis on pro-wrestling and MMA, always turn to Wrestlingobserver.com/Figure Four Weekly Online, the #1 website of its kind on the Internet.
Members receive online access to both the Wrestling Observer and Figure Four Weekly newsletters and growing archives, Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer three times per week,
the popular Bryan and Vinny Show twice per week, additional radio shows including Figure Four Daily with Alvarez, Mike Coughlin's Five Star Radio, the Dr.
Keith Lipinski Show, The Adam and Mike Big Audio Nightmare, Tough Talk and the Karl Stern Wrestling History Show, the infamous BOARD, and more! Members also have full
access to the thousands of hours of audio in our radio show archives which date back to 2005. For your convenience, we offer secure online payments using your VISA, Mastercard,
American Express, Discover card or PayPal account. Don't miss out on the fun, sign up now!
Don\'t miss out on the fun, sign up now!
Want full access? QUICK AND EASY $10.99 SIGNUP!
